Metro: The Carrier
by thewhitestknight909
Summary: A young man living in Savelovskaya: Nikolai, gets the opportunity to live his dream of becoming a stalker. But when a unique find on his first expedition becomes a race against the clock, he has to choose between his own self-preserving desires and the good of the whole Metro. Will he be able to control his fears? or will they control him?
1. ACT ONE

**500th metre North of Savelovskaya**

Fear, Fear can define a man. Although it is not the capacity to feel fear itself that defines a man, no, what separates a man is how he faces his fears, if he can face them at all.

"So what are you afraid of?" A voice intruded Nikolai's thoughts. He looked around slowly as though he had been awakened from a deep slumber. He looked over at the man who had directed the conversation his way, Pyotr, who was staring back intently.

"Running into your sister on the platform at night, she is one ugly broad." Mikhail, one of the other sentries bellowed, drawing an angry look from Pyotr, and sparking bouts of laughter from as far back as the 400th metre: voices carry in the metro.

Nikolai was relieved that Mikhail had stepped in and drawn attention away from himself. Whenever Nikolai was put on watch at the 500th metre he liked to withdraw into his own thoughts and wait for his shift to be over in his mental solitude. He shifted the sub-machine gun off of his shoulder and rested it across his lap. After checking to make sure the safety was on, he let himself lean back against the side of the tunnel and pulled his old weathered wool cap down low over his eyes. He wouldn't let himself fall asleep but he trusted the others to keep a close eye on the northern tunnel.

Nikolai awoke with a start, a cold draught seemed to materialize out of nowhere, it blew through the tunnel and extinguished the watch fire. Complete dark surrounded him.

He fumbled nervously with his flashlight clicking it on and casting a pitiful beam of light back and forth, his hand trembled as the pure dark seemed to greedily swallow up the light. The inky darkness refused to let Nikolai illuminate any of its secrets.

Nikolai turned with a jerk as a small crunch sounded from behind him. As he turned he noticed the bodies of the men he had shared the watch with; Pyotr and Mikhail lay lifelessly, cold, and stiff. All colour drained from Nikolai's already pale face. He quickly scooped up his sub-machine gun and groped the weapon clumsily looking for the safety switch. The trembling young man then turned his weapon and flashlight back toward the Northern mouth of the tunnel, fear gripped his heart and paralyzed his legs. The thudding of boots on rail ties came from behind him, he turned around wildly, letting a couple of rounds fire off as he spun. No one was there.

He glanced around again, something seemed wrong but sleep still clouded Nikolai's mind. It was not until his headlamp swept across the battered stools and chairs again did he realize the bodies of his watchmates were missing.

Nikolai whipped his head back and forth. His eyes widened with fear and adrenaline drove his heart into a frenzy. The strange supernatural wind picked up again, it whipped past him tousling his hair. Nikolai swore he had heard someone whispering with the wind, but he could not make out what the mysterious voice was saying. Then an obnoxious smell filled his nostrils: a smell so rancid that it clouded his thoughts and caused him to dry-heave.

More whispers, more stench.

The hairs on the back of Nikolai's neck stood on end and he got the feeling he was being watched, something moved in the very corner of his vision.

"Who's there?"

"No one." The response came from right beside his ear, Nikolai could feel the hot, breathy words on his neck. He yelped in fear and spun in a full circle holding down the trigger of his automatic, firing off rounds in all directions.

He stood alone again, the smell had become over powering, he had to drop to one knee and hold his sleeve up to his nose. The whispers kept growing in volume and numbers until so many voices whispered so loudly that they even blocked out the smell. Nothing existed anymore except the whispers. Nikolai slowly and deliberately inserted a new magazine into his sub-machine gun, then he slowly turned the barrel of the weapon and put it firmly in his mouth.

"DO IT!" Screamed the voices in unison. "Join us! NOW!"

Nikolai pulled the trigger.

He screamed and jolted upright. Everyone was staring at him: Mikhail, Pyotr, and even the three men that had come to replace their watch. All of them looked a little uneasy, like they were face to face with a feral animal.

"Being alone." He said softly more to himself than anyone else.

"What?" Pyotr asked nervously.

"I'm afraid of being alone, the tunnels-" He paused trying to find the words. "The tunnels know when you're alone, they speak to each other through the pipes." he said as he gestured toward the labyrinth of pipes and tubes that ran along the sides of the walls. "They wait until the perfect moment and then they strike. The Metro doesn't care if you're old, or young, or if you're strong, or frail, if it gets a chance to kill you, you're gonna die."

A suffocating silence filled the space, even the fire seemed to burn without so much as a crackle. Nikolai felt stupid for his outburst. He silently stood and began to pack his things for the walk back to Savelovskaya. The others watched quietly for a minute and then followed suit. They walked back to the station in silence, all of the other watches had been changed already and the sombre party nodded a silent hello to each new man they passed. Except Nikolai who marched on with his head down, he was to engrossed in his own thoughts to even notice the others.

 **Savelovskaya**

Savelovskaya was a relatively unremarkable station. After passing the piles of sandbags and flamethrower positions, Nikolai climbed up onto the main platform. He plodded along past plain green army tents and the stern faced denizens of the dark station. Timiryazevksaya; one of the stations North of Savelovskaya was overrun by rats fifteen or so years ago. The rats killed almost all of the inhabitants of Timiryazevksaya and Dimitrovskaya. Only a hand cart had escaped: saved by Savelovskaya's flame throwers, on the cart there had been a young boy about Nikolai's age at the time. They didn't stay long and Nikolai never got to meet him. Although Nikolai always remembered him for some reason, as if he held some sort of significance.

Beyond those stations were more uninhabited stations and a tunnel that opened up to the surface with no functioning hermetic door, this left it open to mutants. Savelovskaya was the frontier of its line and therefore it saw plenty of attacks from mutants at the Northern tunnel. The people had become hardened as a result.

Red emergency lights illuminated Nikolai's way as he worked through the sea of tents to the community fire at the centre of the platform. Some of the other men who had been on the other watches in the tunnel were already there, they grew silent as he approached, he received looks of pity and fear, along with mocking and curious glances. _Voices **and** rumours travel in the Metro _he thought to himself bitterly.

Nikolai could feel his ears go red of embarrassment, and he decided against joining the group. Without a word he turned around and walked briskly back to his own tent. He flopped his body down onto the hard cot and he quickly succumbed to sleep. No dreams tormented him this time and he slept soundly.

 **The Winking Nosalis Pub**

Nikolai entered the only restaurant in the Savelovskaya station: The Winking Nosalis. It was a grungy little pub filled with old wooden tables and stools. The ceiling of the makeshift wooden building was stained black with soot. Greasy Blue smoke fluttered through the air from the various oil lanterns spread across the room.

Behind the bar stood a portly older woman with dark red, short hair. She fluttered her eyelids, which had far too much blue eye-shadow, at any man seated nearby while she dried an old mug. Laughter and voices resounded within the small space. A woman pushed past Nikolai roughly as she made her way over to scold her husband for being late, drawing more laughter and sarcastic comments from the crowd.

Nikolai wormed his way through the crowded space looking for his friend: Artyom. Artyom and Nikolai always met at the bar before Nikolai left for a shift on watch. He didnt like to think of it as 'one last drink just in case' but sometimes it felt that way.

Artyom and Nikolai had become fast friends from the first day Nikolai's Uncle had brought him to Savelovskaya. Artyom's father, Boris, was the administrator of the station and he held a high opinion of Nikolai which helped to solidify their friendship.

Nikolai sat down at an empty table in a secluded corner of the pub. From his perch he could watch the other patrons, which was his favourite part of coming here. After sitting down, a blonde wench with to much makeup and not enough clothes worked her way over to his table. She wiggled her hips dramatically as she walked, and pushed her bust forward. Nikolai took no notice of her efforts. After ordering a jar of home brew from the wench, Nikolai watched as she swayed her way through the crowd maintaining her unnatural looking posture the whole while.

"Nikolai!" Artyom's voice barely carried through the rabble of the bar. Nikolai looked around and saw a hand waving through the crowd as Artyom made his way over. "Not the usual table? I almost didn't see you over here."

"I don't feel like being around other people right now."

"I heard about your outburst in the tunnel last night." He paused uneasily. "Are you okay?" Artyom looked at Nikolai with genuine concern. Nikolai avoided eye contact. He was felt embarrassed again. "You don't have to answer." Artyom trailed off and began scanning the crowded pub.

Nikolai looked down into his bitter drink. He watched as the bubbles rose lazily to the surface of the murky liquid. The bubbles would cling together as if afraid and then slowly one by one, they would separate and carve their own path through the drink. Eventually reaching the surface and then bursting. Nikolai could see similarities between the bubbles and the humans clinging to life in the metro: At first the people band together afraid of the future. They look for comfort in each others embrace simply because they are of the same species. Then they separate because they realize even though they are similar, they are not the same. They believe in different things, and they decide that some are better than others for the pettiest of reasons. Rifts are created and then they each go their own ways. In the end, the bubbles all end up in the same place: burst and dead. Just like the inhabitants of the Metro.

"Hey Nikolai! You listening chuvak?" He looked up and saw Artyom looking back expectantly.

Artyom must have seen the nonplussed look on his face because he sighed and repeated himself: "My father said that there are a couple of stalkers in the station today. They're looking to recruit a local guide to go on an expedition with them up on the surface." He paused looking for a reaction on Nikolai's face. "I Put your name forward, they're going to come speak with you on your watch shift tonight."

"Why would you put my name forward? I have no real military training or any experience on the surface."

"You're the one who's always saying you want more adventure in your life, plus you've always got your nose stuck in those old maps, day dreaming or whatever. You ask every trader that comes through if they've heard any new stories, or if any stalkers are coming this way, and now I'm giving you a chance to become a real stalker and you're gonna bitch out on me? Besides, I've seen you shoot: you're a crack shot for someone with 'no military training.'" Artyom added air quotes and a mocking tone; trying to get a rise out of his friend.

It was true. Nikolai had become obsessed with the surface, or more specifically with stalkers at a very young age. He had always looked up to his father Dmitri who, had been a stalker before he died when Nikolai was only four.

"I'm just not sure I'm the right guy. That's all." Nikolai tried to sound uninterested. "I don't have any real training or anything."

"You already tried that excuse." Artyom pointed out irritably as he scratched the rough stubble on his chin. He sighed dramatically and pushed his hair away from his eyes. "Well one's called Marshall and i think the other one just goes by Captain, I'm not sure if that's a rank or nickname or what. Anyway they are going to come talk to you tonight. You can tell them you want nothing to do with the mission then."

"It's not like that, I-" Nikolai tried to speak but was interrupted by Artyom.

"I don't want to play messenger anymore, you can talk to them yourself." Artyom stood: clearly disappointed with his friend's reaction. "I'll see you around Kolya." He said glumly and started to exit the pub. He paused mid-stride and looked back to his friend still sitting at the table "Don't let fear of failure stop you from chasing the things you really want in life." Then Artyom left before Nikolai could find a response.

 **500th metre North of Savelovskaya**

Nikolai's watch shift began like every other: he met his partners at the gatehouse with the flamethrowers and they quietly trudged out the 500th metre together. This was followed by six hours of conversation that Nikolai did not engage in and awkward silences.

Nikolai kept an eye on the tunnel to the South, no sign of the stalkers yet: he was getting restless.

The seventh hour was approaching fast when suddenly the sound of boots on railway ties could be heard approaching, but Nikolai was unsure of which direction it had come from. He rose to his feet slowly as memories of his nightmare from last watch jumped to the forefront of his mind. His companions did not seem to hear anything. A terrible feeling seeped its way into Nikolai's stomach: it was fear, but not normal fear. This kind of fear made his knees itch, he wanted to break position and run but he couldn't. His fellow guards looked at him curiously; they spoke to him but Nikolai could not hear their words, only his pounding heart and a strange distant buzzing. More footsteps. His heart jumped into his throat.

"W-who's there?" He managed to stutter weakly. Silence. "Hello?" more silence. The other guards turned their ears to the tunnel: straining to hear whatever Nikolai had heard. The silence lasted an eternity Nikolai stood like a sentinel with his automatic trained on the inky blackness of the tunnel.

"Hello there!" a gruff voice called out from behind him: Nikolai jumped in fear. He turned slowly, two men in protective suits stood before him. The stalkers had arrived.

Both men were a full head taller than Nikolai, their muscular figures could be made out even under the loose fitting protective suits. The one that had introduced himself as Marshall had strong features and a shaved head with a long scar following the curvature of his face above his left eye-brow. The other stalker: Captain, had a shock of thick red hair and startling green eyes, his accent sounded American.

"Nikolai" Marshall paused to light a cigar. "We were told by a mutual friend that you knew the areas around Savelovskaya better than anyone else in the station."

"This is the furthest I've ever been away from the station." Defiance slightly permeated his words but it was unintentional.

"That's not what he asked." Captain said sternly but quietly, clearly disapproving of Nikolai's tone. Nikolai looked at him uneasily. Not wanting to provoke the stalker he cleared his throat:

"I have studied a lot of maps and I've heard a lot of stories but I have no real experience past the 500th metre." Nikolai rubbed the back of his neck and looked at his boots, he suddenly felt self conscious about his inexperience.

"Artyom also said you were an excellent marksman."

"He has the best range score in the whole guard!" One of the other guards said excitedly: Nikolai shot him a venomous glance, although he was unsure why. Usually that fact was a source of great pride for the young man. Marshall whistled to show how impressed he was; it seemed sort of exaggerated to Nikolai.

"Fuck lets sign him up right now!" Captain made no attempt to hide his sarcasm. "Look kid you're the best shot out of a bunch of back water hicks. That's great for you, but the surface ain't no firing range. Everything is always moving and always trying to kill you." He put emphasis on the last couple words. Marshall raised a silencing finger:

"Easy Captain I think our new friend has some real promise." Marshall continued speaking, but Nikolai could not hear him: the distant buzz had returned.

Nikolai rose to his feet and slowly started pacing toward the open mouth of the tunnel, he was getting that strange feeling that something was wrong in the tunnel. The buzz seemed to call to him; he moved outside of the ring of light cast by the fire.

"Kolya what is it?" A voice called out from the fireside: Nikolai couldn't hear anything other than the buzzing. The sound seemed to run away whenever he got to close, almost as if toying with him.

"Watch out!" The same breathy voice from his dream whispered into his ear, Nikolai dropped to the ground just as a nosalis launched itself toward him. Nikolai rolled and jumped to his feet as a whole pack of nosalises came charging around the corner.

"Snouts! look out!" Nikolai called back to the group at the watch fire. A signal bell rang out in the distance.

The next few moments were a blur of gunfire and shouting to Nikolai. He Remembered running and shooting. Then he could remember nosalises charging around the station while the guards tried to create an effective defence. The commotion was overwhelming

Suddenly Marshall's voice rang out clearly through the rumble of gunfire and the screams of humans and nosalises alike. "The boy!". Nikolai followed Marshall's pointing finger to see a young boy of no more than six standing and crying in the middle of the platform alone. Without thinking Nikolai dashed toward the boy and put himself between the child and the nearest nosalis. Training his weapon on the creature: he killed it with a short burst. But while his attention had been elsewhere the boy had tried to escape and was cornered by a mutant. Nikolai ran headlong toward the pair and threw himself onto the creature just as it leaped toward the young boy. Nikolai drove his trench knife into the nosalis' head.

Marshall didn't have time to stop the shot, it connected with both Nikolai and the nosalis. The creature was already dead by the time the buckshot hit its mark, but Nikolai took the brunt of the shot to his side and he fell to the ground limply. Marshall looked at the young man with regret but went to the young boy and carried him to safety before returning to aid the rest of the guard.

Run. Jump. Stab. Excruciating pain. Nikolai lay on the ground gasping for air. He watched the red emergency lights blink in rhythm. Blink. _Red like his blood pooling around him._ Blink. _It's like the lights don't even care I'm bleeding out._ Blink. _I don't want this pain anymore, just to sleep._ Blink. _Sleep._ Blink.

 **Mendeleevksaya**

Nikolai awoke in a bed: a real, soft, mostly white bed. He looked around groggily, his eyes fell on Artyom sitting next to him with his head in his hands. It had been three days since Artyom had shaved and even longer since he had eaten a real meal.

"Oh god we didn't hook up did we?" Nikolai's throat was dry and the words came out raspy, Artyom looked over at him and a smile cracked his lips.

"I'm sure you've woken up next to uglier." Artyom laughed and patted his friend on the arm.

"where am I? What happened? The nosalises!" Nikolai tried to sit up but his injured body screamed in protest.

"Are dead, the stalkers were a big help. I mean they'd have to be right? One of them almost killed you. You've been in and out for four days."

"Oh." Nikolai soaked in Artyom's words trying to lift the fog from his brain. "But where am I?"

"Welcome to Hanza my friend!" a third voice chimed in from the doorway, it was Marshall. "Captain and I carried you here to receive the best treatment we could arrange. How are you feeling?"

"Sore." Nikolai gritted his teeth as he tried to sit up.

"Stay down and rest. You're a hero Kolya you saved that boys life." Marshall said with pride, he patted the wounded man on the shoulder drawing a slight grimace from Nikolai. "I'll come back and check on him in a while, let him rest." Marshall said to Artyom as if Nikolai was no longer in the room. Then the stalker turned on his heel and left soundlessly.

"He's a strange one." Artyom said quietly.

Marshall exited the small room and met Captain in the hallway.

"Well, I guess we try to find another man." Captain said annoyed.

"No way. He's the one we need, give him a day. We need to get him equipped anyway." Marshall looked back into the small room from the doorway watching to the two young men laugh and talk contently.

A couple of hours later Marshall entered Nikolai's room in the infirmary to find the young man sitting by himself reading a tattered book.

"Marshall?" Nikolai said with surprise. "I thought you would have left on your expedition by now."

"Not yet. I'm waiting for the third man of my team to recover." Marshall chuckled slightly as he sat down next to the bed. "Artyom is a good friend. He didn't leave your side the whole time." He observed aloud.

"My best friend." Nikolai corrected him. "He would die for me if I asked him to." Marshall nodded as if this confirmed something, although Nikolai had no idea what it could be. "Why do you want me to join you so badly? I'm sure there are better candidates here in Mendeleevskaya."

"Perhaps, but when I saw you selflessly throw yourself into the fray for that boy. I realized that you are the kind of man who makes the best stalker. The good stalkers do it for the others around them. They want to help people, and then there are others who do it for themselves: they love the looks of adoration and the fame."

Nikolai nodded his head thoughtfully as he absorbed everything the stalker said. Marshall had a certain air about him, Nikolai desperately wanted the older man to like him.

"What is it you're looking for up there?" He inquired unsure of how Marshall would react to his probing.

"Some colleagues of mine found something in the great library that mentioned a top secret science facility near here. We think whatever is held within this facility could prove invaluable to the order and The Metro as a whole."

Nikolai sat in silence pondering what the stalker had said.

"You could sense the danger couldn't you?"

"What?"

"The other day. When we were at the 500th metre and the nosalises attacked. You knew they were coming long before they arrived. You stood and went to investigate, the rest of us didn't hear anything. That kind of tunnel sense is a rare talent. Some men pick it up over time, but to be born with it is a gift." Nikolai smiled proudly at Marshall's last words.

"It's kind of hard to explain, I didn't actually hear anything. It's more like a gut feeling. I guess that sounds kind of weird."

"Not at all. I any case I have purchased some equipment for you, its yours whether you decide to join us or not. I guess I kind of owe it to you. I did almost blow you away back in Savelovskaya." Nikolai laughed which caused a fit of coughing, Marshall frowned slightly as spittle and blood sprayed the white sheets.

 **Savelovskaya**

Almost exactly twenty-four hours later: Nikolai stood next to the familiar sand-bags and flamethrower positions at the entrance to his home station. Savelovskaya looked like a war-zone, bullet holes and blood were scattered around everywhere. The smell of burning flesh wafted in from the 750th metre where a huge bonfire had been started to cremate the corpses of the monsters. And yet, the inhabitants of the station had already returned to their daily lives.

"You look pale boy, you okay?" Captain said roughly but not unkindly: his attitude had changed since the mutant attack.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Just anxious to get going." Nikolai said unconvincingly as he lit a cigarette with shaky hands. Captain chuckled slightly and looked at Marshall who was fiddling with his gloves.

"Ready?"

"Ready." And with Marshall's signal they departed Savelovskaya and entered the tunnel, only 500 metres of civilized territory between them and an alien world that their ancestors had once been the undisputed rulers of.


	2. ACT TWO

**Dmitrovskaya**

Very few people dare to come this far, rumours of satanists at Timiryazevskaya proved to be a successful deterrent. The last of Savelovskaya's watch fires had disappeared behind the three companions a long time ago and the past hour of walking had been mostly silent, which put Nikolai on edge. He tried to find any way to discern their location, but his sweeping circle of light found only: remarkably similar pipes to the ones found just outside Savelovskaya and the ever present rats of the Metro.

Up ahead the tunnel opened up into the atrium of a station; with its marble walls and large arches. Nikolai's groping headlamp found brass letters on the wall: DMITROVSKAYA. His stomach churned slightly as he thought of the people on the hand car that came crashing into Savelovskaya with a tsunami of rats in hot pursuit so many years ago. They had left everything behind and just barely escaped with their lives, much like so many others who had fled to the Metro twenty years ago when the bombs began to fall.

"Hold!" Marshall said firmly, holding up his fist to signal a stop. Nikolai looked at him and then remembering what Captain had told him earlier, he dropped to one knee, and faced the rear to complete their formation.

Nikolai's headlamp scanned the abandoned station stopping periodically to highlight a group of bullet holes or a patch of old blood.

"Who goes there?" Marshall called out into the blackness. Nikolai tensed up and returned his gaze to the tunnel they had just left. He hadn't heard anything, what was Marshall hearing? "Hold your positions, Captain take point, Nikolai maintain rear guard. I'm gonna go take a look." Before anyone had a chance to respond Marshall turned off his headlamp and became yet another fragment of the never ending darkness that surrounded them. Nikolai could hear water drip in the distance, Captain didn't say a word. Nikolai didn't want to look away from the tunnel; it was his responsibility. Nikolai's nerves began to feel frayed, he couldn't even be sure that Captain was still behind him, but he didn't dare look back. All Nikolai could hear was his own breathing and the steady rhythm of his heart.

The pair sat still for an eternity waiting for some sign of Marshall or whatever hostile force he thought he had heard. Suddenly a disc of white light from a pocket flashlight appeared on the wall in front of Nikolai and smoothly rotated in three tight circles before extinguishing.

"That's the all clear lets move up." Captain said irritably from behind Nikolai. He sounded like he wasn't to happy about being left in the dark with the rookie. The pair approached Marshall who had his headlamp back on now; he was digging through on old campfire and a rucksack lying nearby.

"Two of them, probably just scavengers. I think we woke them up. They took off without any of their stuff. Including pants." Amusement was clear in Marshall's voice as he gestured towards a pair of wet, and worn pants hanging out to dry.

"Anything worth taking?" Captain asked gruffly

"That isn't ours to take." Nikolai protested. Captain looked at him, Nikolai didn't even recognize the stalker his face was so twisted with rage. He took a step back in fright.

"Do you realize that's our whole job? And now it's your job too. The whole thing is based off of taking things that don't belong to us. Those things up there." He pointed up to the ceiling of the tunnel as he spoke. "They belonged to thousands of different people, and every day it is our job to climb up there and pillage their homes long after they have died!" Captain was yelling inches away from Nikolai's face. "Not all of us were born down here! Marshall and I lost people when those doors closed. A lot of people I cared about died up there! Every time I go up and see a child's remains, or old dolls and doll houses; all I can think of is my daughter and how she would be 24 now. So you don't get to tell me about things that shouldn't be taken away, because you have no idea what its like to have the most important thing in your life taken away from you." Captain pushed Nikolai away with a firm shove on the chest. He then picked up the rucksack and slung it over his shoulder and began walking into the darkness. Captain paused and looked back at the stunned pair: "I don't like you kid, I've never liked you. The only reason you're here is because Marshall wants you to be for some stupid reason." Then he turned around and stormed off without another word.

Marshall looked at Nikolai sullenly and nodded slightly. Then he shrugged his shoulders to adjust his own bag and followed after Captain.

Nikolai had to run to catch up to Marshall's longer strides. He drew up alongside him and cleared his throat gently, then he whispered not wanting to upset Captain any further. "I feel like that wasn't really about me." The two marched along in silence for a couple minutes before Marshall replied.

"He has had a hard life. He's seen some horrible things, and he's done even worse. That is the horrible responsibility we shoulder as stalkers." Marshall looked up to see if Captain was paying any attention to them before continuing even softer than before: "Each time we've gone up lately; he seems to leave a little piece of himself behind. He wasn't always like this. But each expedition it's like he's becoming more like a feral mutant and less like my old friend."

Nikolai had no words he could only nod thoughtfully and put his head down. "I didn't mean any disrespect before. I realize that stalkers are an essential part of the world. I just know that people out this way work hard for the things they have, even the vagrants, and I'd hate to ruin someone's life over a spare filter. You know?"

"I know it can be difficult at first, but like you said: its essential that we go up and gather the things that we do." Nikolai didn't really understand how stealing a poor drifters backpack was an essential service to the Metro, but he did not want to spark another confrontation so he remained silent.

Nikolai checked his wrist watch: it was a quarter past six in the evening. If his timing was correct they should be coming up on Timiryazevskaya any time. The whole trek from Dmitrovskaya had been filled with complete silence. Nikolai was unsure of what to say to Captain, and apparently Captain had no desire to apologize to Nikolai for causing a scene. So the three marched along in silence broken only by their foot steps and the occasional drip of water in the distance.

Nikolai was also nervous about Dmitrovskaya, so the silence gave way to his imagination, which stirred up all sorts of ghastly images of the satanists that supposedly occupied the abandoned station.

Marshall finally broke the silence: "Eyes up, something on the ground ahead." Nikolai's heart began to beat a little faster as he flipped the safety off of his automatic and aimed it ahead. Marshall nudged his shoulder gently. "Kolya take point we've got you covered."

Nikolai looked at the pair of stalkers and then moved forward very slowly and deliberately, keeping his weapon pointed at the unidentified shadow on the tunnel floor ahead.

A pair of corpses: one male and one female, lay tangled in each others embrace in the middle of the tracks. The man had no pants on, Nikolai felt a lump in his throat. Their lifeless eyes seemed to peer right inside of him. He bent down to examine them closer when Marshall called out from behind him:

"What's happening? All clear?"

"Yeah it's all clear. I- I think it's the vagrants from earlier." Nikolai had to force the words out in clumps. It seemed so strange that not two hours ago these two **human beings** had been so full of life. They had had hopes and dreams, and now because of Nikolai and his companions: they were dead.

"This is our fault! We scared them off and they ended up dead!" But the other stalkers weren't listening to him.

"People die all the time in the Metro Nikolai, I thought you'd be used to that by now. I'm more concerned that whatever killed them is still around here." Nikolai stood silently, then he closed his eyes and listened. "Are you getting any funny feelings?" Marshall asked as he observed the young man.

"Nothing unusual." He stated seriously.

"Okay form up. Nikolai take point, Cap' you've got the rear, and I'll cover flanks and support. Understood? Good. Move out." Nikolai took his position and advanced into gaping maw of the tunnel.

 **Timiryazevskaya**

Their pace had been slower than before but it was only a matter of minutes before Nikolai's flashlight found the familiar brass letters on the wall. Timiryazevskaya was almost identical to Dmitrovskaya, with its stained marble walls and its large arches. Except Timiryazevskaya looked as though it had been inhabited recently.

 _Satanists._ Nikolai thought nervously as he checked to make sure his safety was off. Marshall noticed Nikolai check his weapon:

"Everything okay?" he whispered softly. Nikolai raised his fist to signal a stop and dropped to one knee. Marshall crouched down beside him. "What is it?"

"Rumour has it Satanists live here." Nikolai whispered to Marshall as he scanned the hall. There were tents and even a couple makeshift wooden buildings; although Nikolai was unsure if they had been built by Timiryazevskaya's original residents or the Satan worshippers.

"Did you see anything?"

"It looks like someone has been living here recently, the dust build up is minimal for an abandoned station. And I notic-" Nikolai trailed off as the haunting buzzing returned. He stood without a word and slowly approached the small group of tents that had been erected off to one side of the platform. As Nikolai got closer he saw a pile of bodies. He was having a hard time concentrating because the buzzing was growing louder. He noticed all the of the corpses were male, and dressed in strange robes. They also all bore the same tattoo on their foreheads: an upside down cross.

All of the dead Satan worshippers corpses were withered and shrivelled as if all of their insides had been sucked out. Nikolai's eyes grew wide with terror:

"Upyrs we need to move! Now!" Before Nikolai could finish his sentence a creature pounced on him knocking him to the ground. He rolled and threw the monster off of him, then he jumped up to his feet. The mutant clumsily climbed back to its feet and approached for another attack.

Nikolai had never seen a upyr before, he'd only heard stories. But even the most detailed stories could not have prepared him for the monstrosity that had jumped him. It loosely resembled a human with two knobbly arms and two muscular legs. But it had huge bat-like ears and Nikolai could not see any eyes anywhere on the creature. From its arms a thin membrane of skin stretched from its forearm to its hips, although it had these 'wings' it didn't appear that the monster could fly. The skin of the mutant was pale and pasty. Each of its many veins could be seen through the monster's nearly translucent hide.

As the Mutant prepared to leap again Nikolai dashed off back toward the other stalkers, who had opened fire on more of the creatures. Before he could reach them, a monster tackled Nikolai to the ground and pinned him down. Nikolai struggled with all of his strength to free himself from the nightmarish creature but it was to strong.

A long tube-like tongue slowly snaked its way out of the upyr's mouth. It was hollow and around the end were three rows of razor sharp teeth: perfect for latching onto and then draining a victim. Nikolai cried out in terror and reached for the knife strapped to his chest. It was out of reach. With one last adrenaline fuelled effort, he threw all of his weight against the creature, it didn't even budge.

"Help him!" Marshall screamed to Captain. Captain turned around and aimed his Kalash at the creature pinning Nikolai down, but then he hesitated. He watched as the upyr's tongue slammed into Nikolai's protective suit again and again; trying to find a good spot to latch on. Then Captain turned and fled, leaving Nikolai to his fate.

Marshall watched helplessly as Captain abandoned their companion. A mutant launched at him, which he killed mid-air with his shotgun. He pushed another out of his way and charged toward Nikolai, throwing himself against the struggling pair and sending the group sprawling to the ground.

Captain ran. He sprinted back the way they had come, hoping to flee all the way back to Hanza. He passed the brass letters signifying the start of the station atrium. The kid wasn't worth his life or his bullets. _The intel they found in the library was probably bullshit, things never work out for us anyway._ He thought, trying to validate his actions.

The gunfire had stopped all at once and only the sound of Captain's heavy boots and equipment filled the tunnels. He looked back and did not see any upyrs in pursuit, although he knew they were intelligent and capable of strategy. He allowed himself a short respite before moving on once more. Captain didn't like being alone in the tunnels. He had heard other stalkers talk of a 'tunnel sense' but he didn't have it as far as he knew. So he preferred to have a partner at all times. He started to move back toward Dmitrovskaya at a slower albeit steady pace.

Captain's thoughts had just started to drift to his abandonment of Marshall, when an upyr pounced out from the darkness in front of him. He back peddled and ran in the other direction where he came face to face with another upyr. He turned around once more and opened fire on the first creature: lighting the hallway with blinding flashes and blocking out all other sound. The monster squealed and fell onto its back. Captain charged passed the squirming mutant when suddenly a third monster dropped down from a vent that ran along the top of the tunnel. As it fell it swiped at Captain with its claws, he tried to duck under the incoming attacks but the monster caught onto the rucksack he had picked up at Dmitrovskaya. The upyr hauled Captain to the ground and the other two were on him in an instant. He flailed and kicked but it was no use there were to many of them. One by one, the monsters' straw-like tongues found a latch and they began to drain his innards.

"Marshall!" Nikolai killed an upyr with his sub-machine gun and pushed another aside with the stock of his weapon. He vaulted a mutant corpse and pulled the stunned looking stalker to his feet. "WE NEED TO MOVE NOW!" The stalker had taken a hard blow to the head and still hadn't come to his senses. Nikolai half carried, half dragged the larger man down the first hundred metres of the Northern tunnel. He pulled the stalker backward, under his armpit with one hand and held his weapon with the other. He tried to keep it aimed up at the tunnel in front of him. Although, to Nikolai's surprise no upyrs gave chase down the tunnel. It actually sounded as though their hissing and howling was getting farther away; as if they were giving chase down the Southern tunnel.

"I hope they found Captain."He grumbled to himself under his breath. The man had made it very clear that he had not liked Nikolai, but to leave him to be eaten by upyrs? What kind of a monster can leave another human being to that fate. Maybe he was hardly even human any more at all. Marshall had said that he was becoming more and more feral. Nikolai had thought that he seemed pretty irrational, and aggressive. Nikolai worried that Captain would come after them with reckless abandon, the way that feral animals so often do. He swept the thoughts aside. He had bigger concerns at the moment.

Nikolai dragged Marshall for another two-hundred metres and then he collapsed from exhaustion. He tried to get up but his aching muscles screamed in disapproval and his wounds from the buckshot felt as though on fire. He blacked out.

A scream sounded in the distance among the burnt out buildings. Nikolai scrambled off over a pile of rubble trying to find the girl. Every time he got close, the screams suddenly came from somewhere else. He nimbly navigated the mass grave that had once been Moscow. He strained his ears but could not hear anymore screams. Just as he was about to give up hope; he heard sobbing from just inside a small store right beside him.

He turned the corner and shined his flashlight into the dark space, "H-hello? I'm not a monster."

"You will be." a woman's voice said softly between sobs. Nikolai turned to look behind the counter but could no longer hear the girl. A door sat ajar at the back of the room, it lead to a stair case up to living quarters above the store. He ascended slowly.

"Are you up here? I'm here to help."

"You cant even help yourself." Nikolai reached the top of the stairs where a plain wooden door blocked his path. He pushed the door open slowly.

Inside a woman in a nice and clean pink dress danced around the kitchen as she made supper. Sunlight lazily fluttered through the open window blinds. It smelled divine in the small pre-war apartment and music from an old gramophone filled the air. Nikolai lowered his weapon, He no longer remembered why he was here. Two young children sat at a coffee table in the living room drawing with crayons and laughing. A warmth seemed to seep into his exhausted limbs and Nikolai felt at peace.

"You shouldn't be here." Nikolai looked up from the small children to see the woman now standing directly in front of him with a scowl on her face.

"Pardon?"

"I said you don't belong out here kid. You're not one of us, you'll never be like us." Nikolai blinked and now Captain stood in front of him. Captain was bloodied and shrivelled as if upyrs had been feasting on him. "I never liked you." The crippled Captain said as he took a threatening step toward Nikolai. He went to reach for his sub-machine gun but it was nowhere to be found. Captain kept advancing. Nikolai could see the dead look in his eyes and smell the decay clinging to the stalkers clothes. Marshall's words echoed in his head,

"Each time we've gone up lately; he seems to leave a little piece of himself behind. He wasn't always like this. But each expedition, it's like he's becoming more like a feral mutant and less like my old friend." Nikolai closed his eyes and threw himself at the undead stalker as a savage cry tore itself from his lips.

Nikolai awoke to the sound of a crackling fire. His various cuts had been bandaged and his bullet wounds had been redressed. "Oh good, you're awake. Was starting to freak me out with all of your mumbling and tossing. Do you get nightmares often?"

"Only if I sleep in tunnels it seems." Nikolai rubbed his eyes and sat up. "How long have I been out?"

"It's two in the afternoon." Marshall stopped and took a long drag off of his cigar before continuing, "I scouted ahead a little while you slept, and the next station looks completely empty, shouldn't be any trouble getting through. If we head out soon we should get to the access passage just as the sun's going down, so we wont get blinded.

"Do you want to talk about Captain?" Nikolai asked tenderly.

"He abandoned us like a coward. There's nothing to talk about, he wont be allowed back into the order because of this."

Nikolai shivered as he recalled his nightmare. He shifted his legs restlessly, he wanted to be away from this place and the rotten fog of memories it shrouded his mind in. He stood and began dressing himself back in his protective suit.

Marshall had been correct: the path had been clear and the pair made it all the way to the access tunnel without a hitch

"Are you ready kid? This is a big moment for every new stalker." Nikolai couldn't find words to express his feelings so he nodded meekly. Marshall laughed and took a long haul off of his cigar before flicking the stump away. "Alright, let's go." He pulled his gas mask down from his forehead. Nikolai watched him, he looked so relaxed. As if nothing on the surface could touch him. Nikolai on the other hand was terrified. His face was completely devoid of colour and his hands shook slightly. He clumsily fastened his mask to his face and checked the condition of his weapon before hurriedly following Marshall up to the surface.

When the two reached the mouth of the tunnel, Nikolai had to hold up his hand and block out the last remnants of sunlight. Once his eyes had adjusted he looked around at the frozen wasteland that had once been a bustling city. There was a beauty in the stillness. The crunching of frost underfoot was the only sound among the burnt out buildings and decaying cars. Marshall allowed him a moment to soak in his surroundings and then nudged his shoulder gently and motioned for him to follow.

The partners trudged along quietly with their weapons at the ready, Suddenly a woman's voice rang out through the silence.

"Please! You've got to help her! They'll kill her!" A chill ran up Nikolai's Spine as he and Marshall looked for the source of the frantic pleas. In the distance the small figure of a woman waved her hands trying to get the stalker's attention. She then dashed into one of the nearby buildings. They set off after her.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**


End file.
